Thread: TX: Tea-Party-backed Candidate Wins Republican Runoff, Seat

Conservative Van Taylor wins state House race in west Plano

12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, April 14, 2010

By THEODORE KIM / The Dallas Morning News
tkim@dallasnews.com

Van Taylor defeated Mabrie Jackson on Tuesday in the race for west Plano's coveted seat in the Texas House after an intense Republican runoff campaign.

Anchored by large sums from his own wallet and backing from the conservative Tea Party movement, Taylor won handily, 58 percent to 42 percent.

No Democrats are running in the District 66 race, meaning Taylor stands poised to win the seat in the November general election.

Taylor suggested that his victory would usher a new, hard-line conservative era into city politics.

"This is a big win for Plano conservatives," he said.

Jackson did not respond to calls seeking comment. A spokesman said Jackson was "exhausted" and would have no comment. Taylor said Jackson called to congratulate him and pledged her support.

"She was incredibly gracious," Taylor said.

The seat came open after longtime state Rep. Brian McCall said in November that he would not run for re-election.

Jackson and Taylor were the top vote-getters in a three-way GOP primary March 2. But neither candidate collected a majority, prompting Tuesday's runoff.

Since the primary, Taylor and Jackson had waged a pitched battle, trading barbs over everything from ideologies to political records.

Jackson had said Taylor had few Plano ties and was a political opportunist. The Midland native ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the Waco area in 2006.

Taylor, meanwhile, had blanketed voters with advertisements and mailers that blasted Jackson as too moderate for a political party that has skewed to the right over the last year.

On the flipside, Taylor portrayed himself as an ultra-conservative candidate and courted Tea Party activists who had sided with the primary's third-place contender, Wayne Richard.

"There's no question that Wayne Richard's endorsement and his supporters, many of whom are here tonight, made the difference," Taylor said from a west Plano restaurant where he was holding an election party.

Money played a big role in the race, with Taylor spending record amounts from his own pocket.

Taylor, a real estate investor and former Marine, had put more than $700,000 of his own money into the race. His personal loans are among the largest ever for a Texas House primary, records show.

Jackson, a former Plano City Council member, had received more than half of her money from special interests including liquor wholesalers, petroleum companies and the real estate industry.

Jackson campaign spokesman Bryan Eppstein said that both candidates ran good campaigns but that Taylor's wealth "created somewhat of an issue."

After his November announcement, McCall vacated the House seat this month to become chancellor of the Texas State University system.

The move triggered a separate special election to fill the remainder of his term, which ends in January. Both Taylor and Jackson filed to run in the special election, which is slated for May 8. But after Tuesday's result, Eppstein said Jackson intends to withdraw from that race.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 9845a.html


Unfortunately, Taylor's position on immigration law enforcement seems confined to the borders:

"Issues
"Border Security and Illegal Immigration

"As a Marine, Van served on our southern border and knows first hand that our borders are not secure. In order to keep our families secure at home, Van will work to safeguard our borders to keep terrorists and drug traffickers out of Texas."

http://www.vantaylor.com/issues/border_ ... migration/

So let's hope this keeps happening all acorss this nation, and that we see the sweeping changes in the guard that has been needed for so long.

Keep those liberals/progressives on the run!